Discovering the Best Ways to Breath During Exercise

Fitness - Healthy couple stretching after training on white background
 

 

 

Have you been more aware of your

breathing this week?

 

Last week we discussed how breathing can

improve your health and your fitness.  As

promised, today we are going to dive into

specific breathing techniques for exercise.

 

During daily activities, breathing doesn’t

require much conscious thought.  You need

oxygen so you inhale, you need to get rid of

carbon dioxide so you exhale.  During

exercise, your working muscles require

more oxygen and produce more carbon

dioxide waste as a result.  An efficient

breathing pattern will allow this exchange

to occur with greater ease, less stress on

your body, and produce improved

performance results.

 

Without further ado. . here are the things

to consider while breathing during exercise.

 

1.  When strength training. . .

Inhale on the less strenuous phase of the

exercise, and exhale on the more

demanding phase of the exercise – the

push, pull, or lift. During the inhale, allow

your stomach to expand and then pull in

toward your spine during the exhale.  This

allows improved stability in your spine to

prevent back injury when lifting heavy

weights.

 

2. When endurance training . . .

Make a conscious effort to keep your

breathing both deep and relaxed. Master

the art during your warm up and try to

maintain this as long as possible as you

increase intensity.  In addition, some

experts suggest that instead of breathing

in an even pattern, you should inhale for

three seconds and then exhale for two.

 

3. When stretching. . .

Focus on inhaling deeply since you are

trying to “loosen up” the muscles.  This type

of deep diaphragmatic breathing relaxes

your muscles so you can get a better stretch

and lower your risk of pulling a muscle.

 

Ideally, you will inhale through the nose and

exhale through the mouth. On every exhale,

try to relax more fully or give into the stretch

a little further.   Fill your stomach with air,

and exhale fully before taking another breath.

 

The theory behind breathing during exercise

is to get as much oxygen and blood to your

working muscles as possible.  You enhance

your potential and your performance during

each set, run, or yoga pose.

 

Proper breathing is where strength is

enhanced, new PR’s happen, performance is

improved and utmost potential can be

realized. Sometimes it is the littlest things

that make the biggest difference.